Navya endeavored to take deep breaths within her space suit, longing for a refreshing breath of open air that regrettably remained unavailable in her current surroundings.

With a heavy heart, she firmly pressed the daunting, oversized red button on the control panel. Its activation signified that she and her team were about to face a significant challenge. As the head of NASA's inaugural Mars project, aimed at successfully landing humans on the red planet, Navya had reached a point of uncertainty. The distinguished position of team leader had bestowed upon her the responsibility of making crucial decisions, and she had now made hers.

The spaceship emitted a beep, signaling a change in course.

 The mission had been abruptly terminated. A confirmation of this cancellation could be obtained by pressing the button once more within the ensuing sixty seconds. One... two... three...

Sixty seconds, she had sixty seconds to make the final decision. Fifty six...fifty seven...fif....

With a tremor coursing through her, Navya pressed the button once more. Chaos permeated the hearts of those around her, fully aware of the profound significance this project held for everyone involved. However, they refrained from questioning her decision, as if anticipating it all along.

"We are now en route back to Earth. Please adjust the atmospheric and level settings," a voice instructed.

The front disc of the control panel rotated and descended, revealing a keyboard that materialized above it. Navya began typing on the keyboard, but the spaceship's beeping resumed, this time in an incessant manner. Navya halted her typing, her gaze sweeping across the ship. The red illumination along the floor's edges served as a warning sign, indicating that something had gone terribly wrong.

We are currently on route X944.

We have deviated from our designated route.

We have ventured beyond the solar system. Press...

"What does this mean?" Nikhil inquired, voicing the concern that enveloped him. The team comprised of three members, including Navya.

"Please remain calm. I am attempting to establish communication with the team," Navya assured them.

We have deviated from the designated route.

"What is happening?"

Abruptly, their spaceship collided with an unknown object, causing it to abruptly power down. The lights flickered off, plunging the ship into complete darkness.

"How will we reconnect with NASA? What if we can never return?" Nitin voiced his fears.

"We will be valiant warriors of NASA," Nikhil declared with determination.

Hours ticked by as they remained trapped inside the darkened spaceship. They made desperate attempts to regain contact, but all their efforts were in vain.

"I am going outside."

"What? No!"

"Do you expect us to perish within this confined space without taking any action? Our oxygen will soon run out! Navya, let's go."

Navya ascended the open tunnel in the ceiling, determined to escape the confines of the spaceship. As she reached mid-thigh, the opening unexpectedly began to close, inducing panic within her. In a rush of desperation, she managed to squeeze outside. However, her knees met a hard surface, causing her to lose her balance.

"Ah!"

A sharp, unyielding object pierced her back, and Navya's horror grew as she realized her oxygen cylinder had been ruptured.

"Oh no! No! How could this break? What is this surface? No!"

Navya felt a sense of breathlessness, unsure if her oxygen supply had depleted, yet feeling as though she were suffocating. She removed the oxygen cylinder and the protective shield from her face, preparing to face her final moments.

"What a way to go!" She chuckled. "Will my life flash before my eyes now?"

"Mamma, Papa... I'll miss you."

"I wanted to meet Ronaldo."

"What a mundane ending!"

"I wished I could have..."

Navya paused, surveying the vast, rigid expanse upon which she lay. Why was she still alive? She could still perceive a faint pain in her back. She took a deep, long breath, and to her disbelief, detected the presence of oxygen.

"What?"

"I've found... oxygen... life."

She yearned to pinch herself, but the sharp pain in her knee and the lingering ache in her back served as sufficient confirmation that this was not a dream.

Crawling away from her spaceship, Navya observed that her hair hung downwards, indicating the presence of gravity in this place. She brushed her hair aside with her hand and attempted to pull herself up by placing her hand on the ground.

"Ah!"

Contrary to her expectation, her hand descended, as if plunging into a deep hole, until she found herself positioned in the middle of what resembled a highway road. Her eyes widened in astonishment as she beheld a colossal truck-like vehicle, devoid of wheels, seemingly propelled by some form of battery power. It hurtled towards her at full speed. Navya's mind went blank, immobilizing her. She couldn't even fathom the idea of getting up. In a split second, the vehicle came to a halt, frozen in motion, leaving no visible signs of damage.

A young man emerged from the vehicle, seemingly coming to her aid. However, it soon became apparent that he was no ordinary man but an alien, despite his strikingly human appearance. He exuded an air of fury, with his short, curly brown hair falling over his forehead, sharp blue eyes, and a well-defined jawline.

"What are you doing here? Now, move. You are blocking my way. " The stranger snapped at Navya.

Navya blinked once,twice at the stranger. She was definitely not on earth or she would have understood him.

The stranger alien, rubbed his temple in a very much human way. His language sounded more like binary digits, there were basically just two syllables ning and roh getting repeated like 0 and 1.

"How many times I have asked him to block that entrance way directed here..."
The alien muttered something under his breath.

"Are you mute?"

It looked like the stranger was now addressing her with those blue- green eyes of him.

Navya continued looking at him, observing him intently.

Ningrohningningrohningrohroh

The alien pointed to himself and extended his hand towards Navya, indicating that he wanted to introduce himself. However, Navya refrained from extending her own hand and instead shifted her gaze behind the alien. Confusion flickered across the alien's face as he followed her line of sight.

Navya's skin tingled with goosebumps as she observed the individual standing behind the alien. They exchanged glances and engaged in a conversation before her.

"There has been a recent infiltration through the A28 passageway."

"Yes, I have a hunch about what it could be..."

The other alien cast a suspicious look in Navya's direction, his sharp, gray eyes scanning her intently.

"Stay vigilant and aware of your surroundings. This could be a new species. None of the recorded codes match. We may be dealing with extraterrestrial beings."

The blue-eyed alien redirected his focus towards Navya, his gaze penetrating her eyes. A sense of recognition sent a chill down Navya's spine. He then turned back to his companion.

"Perhaps it's a spy from planet Z-976?"

Navya swiftly and silently inched away from their presence, her body moving with both speed and stealth.

"No, we would have identified them. Unless they have developed new technology to elude us," the blue-eyed alien speculated.

"Wait, do you see that girl over there, she..."

The gray-eyed alien turned his gaze once again in Navya's direction, seemingly attempting to locate her.

"Capture her!"

Without hesitation, Navya fled, propelled by a surge of adrenaline.

*

Navya found herself no longer amidst the unfamiliar vehicles and expansive roads. Instead, she navigated through narrower pathways. Within a matter of minutes, darkness engulfed the sky or atmosphere, but numerous lights illuminated the surroundings. Towering structures surrounded her, reminiscent of the ones she had seen in the story of Rapunzel, but these were far more brilliantly illuminated. Strange white lights encircled the tops of the towers, while similar lights extended along their entire length, pulsating back and forth. Navya couldn't shake off the fear that someone might emerge from these buildings and capture her, yet she couldn't spot any visible doors. Uncertainty clouded her thoughts about the whereabouts of her team, whether they were still alive or captured, or perhaps had managed to return to Earth.

She continued walking, yearning for something to shield her from the blinding lights that enveloped her. Her injured knee throbbed with pain, and hunger gnawed at her, making her dread the possibility of starving to death.

Suddenly, a shuffling sound echoed from behind. Someone gripped her wrist firmly, causing Navya to feel the urge to scream, yet she couldn't vocalize her fear as she swiftly succumbed to unconsciousness. The last image that flickered in her mind before losing consciousness was the familiar gaze of blue-green eyes.

*

Navya's eyes fluttered open, revealing a dimly lit room adorned with maroon lights on the floor and ceiling. Her head throbbed with pain, and exhaustion weighed heavily on her body. She realized her wrists and ankles were bound by an unseen force, and a translucent barrier enclosed her. Observing the room, she noticed several men, or rather aliens, diligently working on a large floating screen, presumably a blueprint of some kind of vehicle. Strangely, no one paid any attention to her. Had they imprisoned her here as their experimental subject?

"Hello?" Navya called out, but her voice seemed to fall on deaf ears, or perhaps the aliens simply chose to ignore her.

The bindings around her wrists and ankles briefly lit up in red before returning to their invisible state. The wall at the front of her vision parted, and the blue-eyed alien who had kidnapped her entered the room. He spoke, but Navya couldn't hear his words; she could only observe his lips moving. The other aliens in the room immediately turned their attention towards him. A sense of dread enveloped Navya as she realized that these advanced beings possessed technology far beyond her comprehension. The thought of them extracting information about Earth from her filled her with terror. She never wanted to become a martyr for their cause.

As the alien approached her, the walls around her dissipated, exposing Navya to his presence.

"You turned out to be more harmless than one could ever imagine, or perhaps more dangerous than I could have ever anticipated," the alien remarked, his voice tinged with amusement. Navya stared at him in disbelief, realizing that he was speaking English. The alien chuckled, amused by her expression. "Wondering how I am speaking your language?"

"Untie me," Navya demanded, her tone firm and assertive.

Without hesitation, he complied, releasing her from the invisible restraints. Her arms and legs were free, and she stood on her own feet. Strangely, her knee no longer ached, and she felt a surge of energy as if she had just feasted on a lavish buffet.

"What do you want?" Navya cut to the chase, refusing to engage in futile conversation. These aliens were undeniably intelligent, and it was possible that they already possessed knowledge about Earth.

"Your memories were quite ordinary. Home, family, work, food, and that organization of yours... NASA." Navya stood there, bewildered. He had delved into her memories. Just how advanced were these beings?

The alien casually settled onto a nearby stool that materialized out of thin air.

"Your friends have already been captured and are likely undergoing experiments," he revealed, causing tears to well up in Navya's eyes.

"Will they kill them?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"Only if they pose a threat," he replied, his tone matter-of-fact.

"Why am I here? Will they kill me? Will you..." Navya's words were interrupted by the alien, who cut straight to the point.

"According to them, you are already dead. You would probably have met that fate if you had continued walking towards..."

"We merely lost our way! We didn't even know you existed. What do you want from us? From me?" Anger and frustration welled up within Navya, and tears streaked down her cheeks.

"The deal is simple. You will divulge everything you know. EVERYTHING. About Earth, civilization, the universe, and science. Do not attempt to outsmart me, for you cannot."

A deal? As if she had any choice in the matter, or as if she stood to gain anything from it. Humans and aliens alike were crafty. Seeking clarification, she asked, her voice tinged with defiance, "What if I refuse?"

"Then you die," he responded bluntly.